


Midnight, August 24

by orphan_account



Category: No Fandom, Original Work
Genre: Gen, Stars, sleeping at last, space
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-24
Updated: 2019-08-24
Packaged: 2020-10-01 18:50:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20371336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account





	Midnight, August 24

Today, it rained.

Tonight, the song Saturn by Sleeping At Last came on. I went downstairs to take my pill and give my sleeping dog a hug, listening to the beautiful half of the song that’s pure instrumentals, from the mourning violin to the fragile heartbeat of the drums. I rose from the couch and the warmth of my dog and travelled to the kitchen. Looking out the window, I saw nothing, and figured the dark sky was covered in a cloud. I opened the back door with a creak and stepped out onto the porch, the wet mat soaking my sock and chilling my entire body.

From there I knew there was no turning back.

My foot landed on the deck, and as I looked out, I was amazed. The rolling hills and distant forest were colored blue and hazed in fog, one warm, white house light illuminating it all. But the best was yet to come. I travelled out further on the deck and looked up, and starlight filled my gaze as soon as the singer began:

_You taught me the courage of stars, before you left _

Many nights had I wandered out onto this same deck, and looked at this same sky, these same hills, these same houses, and these same stars. But never before had they looked quite like this.

_How light carries on endlessly, even after death_

The heavens gazed down on me, numerous and growing. I could point out the main constellations, but behind them more stars seemed to grow. At the edge of my vision was a field of lights, but when I focused on one spot, I could only see a few. Still, I knew they were all there.

_ With shortness of breath, you explained the infinite_

The words of countless people talking about how small they felt compared to the endless universe rebounded inside of me, their voices echoes of another world. I had thought I understood what they meant, but I’d been wrong. In that moment I felt as much as the universe as a human possibly ever could.

_ How rare and beautiful it is to even exist_

And that was how I greeted the new day, unnamed emotions and tears in my eyes.


End file.
